Potato Council Report February 2026

Market Report

Retail demand and household consumption for potatoes remain relatively stable, providing some underpinning to the market. There continues to be good demand for packing-quality Roosters and white varieties. However, as the storage season progresses, an increasing number of quality issues are becoming apparent at retail level, including defects related to skin finish and internal quality. This has contributed to a growing oversupply in the peeling market, as more product is diverted away from pre-pack and fresh retail channels. As a result, returns for peeling outlets have come under pressure, with limited scope to move volumes at sustainable prices.

With the 2026 planting season approaching, growers are currently assessing cropping and variety decisions for the year ahead. These decisions are being made in the context of significantly higher production costs, continued uncertainty around access to key plant protection products, and ongoing concerns regarding seed availability and affordability. Labour costs, storage expenses, and compliance requirements are also weighing heavily on confidence. Collectively, these factors are likely to influence both overall planted area and variety selection for the coming season.

At a European level, physical markets within the processing sector remain weak, with little evidence of recovery. Stocks in excess of contract requirements are widely regarded as unwanted, and opportunities to place surplus potatoes into peeling or fresh fry markets are increasingly limited. Prices in these outlets are difficult to sustain, with buyers showing little appetite for additional volumes. In the UK, market signals suggest that growers are responding to these conditions by planning sizeable reductions in the planted area of early crisping and French fry varieties, which may have longer-term implications for supply balance across the sector.

Food Regulator 

In December of last year, additional statutory powers were granted to the Office of the Agri-Food Regulator, strengthening its ability to oversee and enforce fairness within the food supply chain. These enhanced powers allow the Office to formally require information from processors and retailers, improving transparency and enabling more effective investigation of unfair trading practices. IFA has long advocated for these measures and welcomes their introduction as a necessary step in addressing imbalances in bargaining power between primary producers and larger supply-chain actors. It is essential that these powers are now fully utilised and adequately resourced to deliver meaningful outcomes for growers and to ensure that increased production and compliance costs are fairly reflected in returns to farmers.

Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT)

Budget 2026 gives another opportunity for landowners subject to RZLT in 2026 to request a change from their Local Authority in the zoning of their land and avail of a exemption from RZLT liability.

“There will be an exemption from the 2026 RZLT liability if a landowner applies for a rezoning to reflect the “genuine economic activity currently being carried out on the land”.

This remains a temporary solution from a tax that is unfair to genuine farmers of land that fall within the scope of RZLT. Responsibility to gain the exemption, and the cost associated with gaining the exemption falls back on the landowner. IFA has campaigned to have a permanent solution that will remove actively farmed land from the scope of residential zoned land tax. This remains the policy of IFA. IFAs position remains that landowners with declared agricultural activity must be removed from the scope of residential zoned land tax.

Activity since last Council

• A National Potato Committee was held on the 12^th of January. At the meeting Jason O’Leary was elected as Chair.
• The IFA Potato Committee travelled to Brussels in January to engage with Irish MEPs and Copa-Cogeca on key issues impacting the Potato sector, with a particular focus on the ongoing challenges around seed potato availability. Committee members met with a number of Irish MEPs to highlight the critical importance of securing reliable access to high-quality seed, Plant Protection products and the negative implications that regulatory barriers continue to have on Irish potato production. 
• IFA recently arranged a meeting with a laboratory specialising in isotope testing of potato and vegetable products, in response to concerns arising from recent instances of mislabelled produce identified in Irish retail outlets. The meeting explored how isotope analysis can be used to verify product origin and support traceability within the supply chain. This engagement forms part of IFA’s ongoing work to address mislabelling issues and to strengthen enforcement and transparency across the retail supply chain.
• IFA continues to attend monthly meetings of the HIF sub committee. 
• IFA continues to liaise with all retails and packers on how the season is unfolding, the weather conditions, staffing costs and all other issues. 
• IFA continues to lobby for all potato farmers to be excluded from commercial rates as per the Valuation Act. In recent years there has been an increase in inspections on potato, tillage and horticulture premises by Local Government on behalf of the Valuation Office. Inspectors are deeming storage sheds, packing sheds, and washing bays ratable. These buildings are not ratable by virtue of constituting “Farm buildings” as defined in the Valuation Act 2001. If a precedent is set, then almost all agriculture buildings could be viewed as ratable.
• IFA met with a number of retailers and packers before Christmas to discuss supply of potatoes for the upcoming season. The balance of these meetings will in held in the coming weeks. 

Upcoming Activity/Events

• IFA will continue to monitor the origin of produce with the use of Isotope testing.
• IFA continues to engage with retailers on crop availability and setting up meetings with retailer buyers and packers at this critical period. 

• IFA will continue to contact growers to ensure they are aware of the costs of production and engage in both stocks/acreage surveys.
• IFA will attend a Potato Development Group meeting this month.